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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

5-2 win gives Griffins their best AHL start

November 4, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Two goals from Tomas Kopecky and continued dominance by their top line propelled the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 5-2 win over the Syracuse Crunch on Friday at Van Andel Arena.

The trio of Jiri Hudler, Eric Manlow and Kent McDonell combined for two goals and four assists to push their cumulative point total to 50 just 10 games into the season. With the victory, the Griffins (7-2-0-1) are off to their best AHL start and their second-fastest start ever in terms of both wins and points, trailing only the 2000-01 squad that began 8-1-1.

Grand Rapids and Syracuse (4-5-0-0), which had not met since the 2002-03 season, will play a 7 p.m. rematch at Van Andel Arena on Saturday.

The Crunch scored during a power play just 3:56 into the contest, when Alexandre Picard tipped an Aaron Johnson blast from the point past Jimmy Howard. Syracuse then squandered a juicy opportunity to take a two-goal lead when Ben Simon's chance on a shorthanded breakaway rang off the right post.

The errant shot proved costly midway through the frame as the Griffins notched a pair of goals just 14 seconds apart, their quickest consecutive tallies of the season. During a power play, Donald MacLean pounded home a rebound from the slot at 12:45 to even the score. Moments later, after a turnover in the left corner, Manlow centered a pass to Kopecky, who controlled the puck with his skate and quickly slipped a shot past a helpless Pascal Leclaire. The marker gave Kopecky the first three-game goal streak of his career.

Grand Rapids grabbed a two-goal cushion during an advantage 3:52 into the second period, when McDonell crashed the net to convert a Hudler feed from the end boards. The assist extended Hudler's league-high point streak to 10 games, tying for the fourth-longest streak in franchise history and marking the team's longest since Hudler's 12-game tear two years ago.

The power play fest continued later in the frame, as Syracuse's Mark Hartigan scored into a vacated net at the 14:09 mark.

The Griffins made it a 4-2 game 4:33 into the final period thanks to that top line. Hudler stickhandled through the slot to set up Manlow and record his eighth multiple-point game of the young season. Kopecky then blew the game open with his second goal at 14:42, taking a cross-crease pass from Eric Himelfarb and lifting a shot over Leclaire.

Howard improved to 2-1 with his 20-save effort, while Leclaire made 31 stops in the loss.

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